South Africa said on Wednesday it had asked the United Nations to delay placing two South Africans on its list of suspects linked to al-Qaeda.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the request amounted to an objection by the South African government, which wants talks with the United States over its allegations that Junaid Docrat and Farhad Docrat finance and recruit for al-Qaeda.
”They are not on the list at the moment … the request to include them [by the US government to the UN Security Council] was only made on January 18,” said their lawyer Shaheed Dollie.
On Tuesday evening, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was still applying her mind on how to deal with the issue of the two.
Dollie said he had asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to clarify reports of plans to name them on the list.
In an urgent letter to the department he said his clients were ”confident that there is no factual basis whatsoever, which would justify their being listed on the so-called ‘United Nations list of persons associated with al-Qaeda’.”
Under UN guidelines, they face the freezing of their assets and bank accounts, and prohibitions on worldwide trade and travel.
Dollie added that media hype and negative publicity surrounding the two men had affected their personal lives, traumatised their children and negatively impacted on their businesses.
He also confirmed reports that both Junaid, Farhad and their businesses had been under surveillance.
”They’ve been under surveillance for quite a while now,” he said, adding that they were not sure who was monitoring them.
According to a legal expert, South Africa — as a member of the UN — will have no choice but to act against the pair.
South Africa had to comply with the UN’s guidelines, said University of the Witwatersrand law school senior lecturer Mia Swart.
”It is difficult to apply the construct of diplomatic protection to these men … South Africa has to comply with United Nations guidelines as a member state,” she said.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that South Africa has until Friday to give the US government reasons why the two should not be on the list. – Reuters, Sapa